


Damselfly

by Dara999



Category: Alien Series, Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2019-11-18 09:32:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18118070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dara999/pseuds/Dara999
Summary: A scientific research vessel becomes over run by ruthless apex-predators. When a distress signal reaches a passing ship, the help that arrives was not the kind of help the remaining crew could have expected.This is a project I've been working on for a while now.





	1. Damsel in Distress

It was a darn shame, the operation had been running smoothly until now. Maxwell rolled the cigar from the right corner of his mouth to the left. “Charlotte separate the shuttle from the ship please, if we don’t detach now then they’ll get in.”

“Of course sir.” The synthetic swiftly obeyed, her hands fluttering over the controls effortlessly. “What about the rest of the crew sir? Should I send out a distress signal for them?”

“No, we don’t want to attract attention to this mess. I want the ship detached and moved to observation distance, scan for any outgoing frequencies.”

“Yes sir.” Metallic clunks filled the void of sound, followed by the hum of jets activating, propelling them away from the carnage. Charlie watched as the ship grew smaller and smaller in the window. She wondered what would become of the others on board.

“Charlie what’s the matter?”

“Nothing sir…”

“Charlotte my dear you might be highly advanced but I can see through your lies. Tell me what on your mind, all data from you is useful.” Maxwell lent back in his armchair, watching the vastness of space consume the ship they were leaving behind. “Come talk to me.” Charlie looked over at Maxwell, his demeanour seeming very relaxed.

“There’s a lot of people on the Damselfly. Leaving them seems… cruel. It feels wrong.”

“It’s business Charlotte, you know this. This is why I don’t let you mingle. That empathy you’re feeling is useless in this corporate world.” She looks back towards the window.

“Observational distance achieved, would you like me to conceal our vessel?”

“You read my mind dear.”

~~~~~

He had finally reached the communications tower. Warm crimson coated his arms, the taste of iron filled his mouth. Limping he made his way to the external communications room, locking the door behind him. “S.O.S, this is the Damselfly we are in need of immediate assistance! We are in the Omega quadrant sector 23B-7Z. I repeat we need immediate assistance. This is Woodie Castor, a member of the security team. Please. Anyone, respond!” Nothing but the sound of static responded. A low guttural growl came from above, looking up Woodie could see the saliva of one of those things dripping from the air vent. Woodie lifted the fire axe he had in hand and prepared to strike, he wasn’t going down without a fight. He’d give it scars to remember him by. “I’m coming Lucy. I’ll see you real soon baby.”

~~~~~

“Um, sir there’s a distress call coming from the Damselfly. What do you want me to do?” Maxwell sat up, losing the relaxed composure he just had.

“Active the jammer! Do not let that call be heard!”

“Y-yes sir!” Charlie jumped a little at the sudden change in attitude and pressed her fingers against the projected screen with haste. She still didn’t feel good about what they were doing, but Maxwell had been very nice and insightful thus far. This was just part of the job; the contingency plan. “Jammers are functioning, it’s highly unlikely for any ship to track the Damselfly’s position now the transmission’s been severed unless they were in the local zone.”

“Keep alert. Nothing gets off that ship without our pursuit.”

“Of course sir.”

~~~~~

“Captain we’re picking up a signal.”

“What’s it saying?”

“… It’s an S.O.S.” A grin spread across Willow’s face, bingo. They had found the perfect recipe for stranded vessels. A few stray asteroids, electromagnetic interference and a smidgen of isolation made for a gold mine; as long as you were willing to make a few threats.

“How close?”

“Not very far.”

“I’ll get onto tracking that for ya cap.”

“Fantastic work the both of you. Is there anything else in the perimeter?”

“Not that I can see- oh. It’s stopped.”

“Stopped? Check again Wendy, try a different frequency.”

“… Still nothing.” Willow frowned, looking down at the screen in front of Wendy. Signals didn’t often go dead so quickly.

“What do you think happened Walani?”

“There’s an asteroid belt nearby, a few may have been flung out of orbit and struck their transmitter Cap.”

“Do you think anyone else heard them?”

“Probably not, the signal was very short and would take time to trace from long distance, if possible at all. They’re as good as dead out here.”

“Full speed ahead it is! Let’s go get us some goodies ladies.”


	2. Hunted

Fascinating, yes; safe, no. He just had to vote for increasing the ship’s holding capacity size, something at first which seemed like it would be good for their research. But now instead of six xenomorphs there were eight and they were rapidly escaping. Their teamwork was absolutely top notch, a well organised colony from the very beginning to what would probably be his bitter end. Wilson had spent at least two years studying and experimenting with these creatures. It was one at first. A single xenomorph to test on. Then it was two. Then four. Then six and now eight. They were astounding creatures, a true feat of biological engineering. Although that put them straight to the top of the food chain, above humans.

Everyone had been chaotically shuffled to the end of the ship that held the escape shuttles, who actually reached any of the shuttles was anyone’s guess. Wilson had avoided the crowd, he needed to get back to the holding bay for Webber. “Status WX.”

“I DETECT MINIMAL MOVEMENT IN THE CARGO BAY.”

“Good. We better get moving then.” Wilson probably tinkered too much for his own good, WX-78 had been an old model of android but nostalgia  lead him to restore the bot . He had proved a useful assistant in the lab, however, his AI was less than perfect. He was very disinterested in other people and could easily seem rude, which really made him the perfect companion for the antisocial scientist.

These crea tures were intelligent and could likely  tell what hallways were used for what. Wilson wondered if they used pheromones like other invertebrates that formed colonies,  perhaps they could distinguish the high traffic  areas from the low ones. However they did it  they had created  a  nest in the very centre of the hallway between the escape pods and where Wilson wanted to go. The nest must have been made within the hour, a thick, black, substance covered the hallways top to bottom; Wilson was lucky to escape with his life thanks to Wolfgang.

~~~~~

Wilson could feel his blood pumping in his ears, they had walked right into a trap, the xenomorphs had turned the central deck into some kind of nest. A thick, black silicon-like substance coated everything, creating what Wilson expected a bee hive to look like from the inside, except with a lot less honey and a lot more death.  A pack  had chased the group into this nest, a labyrinth of twists and turns. Hissing echoed from all directions. “We need to turn around, our chances are a lot better with  the few behind us  than  the  nest full of them!” 

“That one already tore Kathrine and Damien apart! There’s fucking way I’m going to go back to where it was!” Annoyance flickered through Wilson;  he could stay behind and die then. 

“Fine, stay and face ten of them as opposed to o-" A large black mass fell on top of the simpleton Wilson was just disputing with, a spray of crimson covering the ground. There it was, in all its perfection, a xenomorph. Behind glass was one thing, but face to face, human blood dripping from its  silver  teeth, it was downright terrifying. 

The group scattered faster than Wilson could blink. A blur of black and a plethora of screams erupted. Wilson let out a cry and headed for the way they came in. That would be the path of least resistance, away from the thick of the nest. A handful of people were in Wilson’s peripheral vision; medical and security staff. There were more ahead. Wilson froze. Damn it. Damn it! DAMN IT! He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, up into his head, his ears. The xenomorph opened its jaws and snarled, saliva dripping onto the floor. Wilson could only hope it  didn’t chose him as its prey. A  gunshot rang in Wilson's ears, the xenomorph staggering back, yellow oozing from its chest.

“ Move now!" A large man rushed forward, Wilson knew him as Wolfgang, head of security. Working with dangerous and sensitive material, Wilson was well acquainted with this incredibly strong man, he and his men often patrolled the laboratories. Cocking the shotgun in hand Wolfgang ploughed forward, emptying the barrel on xenomorphs attempti ng to prevent their escape. He couldn’t prevent some members being  picked off  however, only about half remained:  Wilson, Wolfgang and another member of the security team. "We must go to escape pods now."

"I-I need to go back to the labs."

"Eh?! The labs, are you insane?! I think we should head for the coms tower, call for help and hole up in there until it arrives!"

"Woodie right, lab not safe. Talking tower has strong lockdown. We leave together and now." Wolfgang spoke broken English, but he easily made up for it in physical strength and skill, a trait which was prized for keeping unwanted guests out of the science wing. Wilson needed to get back to the lab, back to Webber. Wilson could use Wolfgang's strength along the way, but, he couldn't force him to come.

"You don't have to come with me, but I need to go. There's something important there I need." Woodie waved his arm dismissively.

"Fine! But no guarantee you'll live." Woodie turned and cocked his pistol. "Let's go Wolfgang." It took a moment for Woodie to realise Wolfgang wasn’t following. "Wolfgang?"

"Will give time to both comrades."

"What?!" Wilson and Woodie simultaneously asked; surely he wasn't going to draw them to himself.

"Don’t be absurd, you're one of the only people capable of fighting these things!"

"He's right, eh! Just go with the doc, I'll be alright on my own."

"Wolfgang will help both. You cannot change his mind. Go now." Woodie and Wilson glanced at each other, Wolfgang seemed to have made up his mind.

“Take care of yourself big guy.”

“Yes, be vigilant.”

“Do not worry. Wolfgang will take care of beasts.”  And with that the man left, leaving Woodie and Wilson to state at each other for a moment before heading off in their own directions .

~~~~~

Wilson and WX-78 made their way through the cargo hold ,  trying to keep vigilant as well as navigate. Heavy footsteps echoed from within a hallway and panic flooded Wilson’s being. Dropping behind one of the cargo boxes, Wilson covered his mouth daring not to breathe. The shiny black exoskeleton of a xenomorph came around the corner; tall, muscular and  with an arsenal of weapons at its disposal.  It  scans the room, tilting  its head,  listening .  Wilson worried his  pounding heart would give away  his position.

Something across the cargo bay causes a canister to topple over, the sound making Wilson jump and hit his head on the wall. Snarling the Xenomorph ran over to the source of the sound, screaming soon followed. The pair moved as the screams continued. Wilson could just imagine the creature tearing into his own flesh .  Entrails spilled across the floor. Blood pooling beneath him. Eyes hollow and-

"WILSON." The  andorid's  tone was hushed but urgent, Wilson tore his attention away from his horrific day-dream. WX-78 was pointing to the structure Wilson had just hit his head on, an air duct. Wilson dare not say it was hope that fluttered through his mind, for fear of it being crushed but it's what he really did feel. The air duct could be used as an escape route, to stay out of the main rooms. Sure he may have to take a detour but at least he could hide himself.  Wilson pressed the button to open the vent and shuffled inside, the space was cramped, he couldn’t decide if he would prefer this or being out in the open.

With WX-76’s help Wilson managed to get to the infirmary, not exactly close to the labs but it was something.  After only a few moments however the entire station shook, lights flickering overhead. Something had impacted the ship and whatever it was, was big enough to cause Wilson and several trays fall onto the floor.  "TOO BAD YOU DO NOT CONTAIN GYROSCOPES."

"Your commentary isn't needed  WX. We have more pressing matters than me lacking a gyroscope. Whatever that was can’t be good  news.” Getting to his  feet Wilson  took hold of  the  medical beds  t o keep himself stable in case of another shockwav e .  Had some thing  hit the  ship? Did something on board explode?  Wilson could only hope none of the life support systems were compromis ed.

It wasn’t long before another shockwave shook the ship, although a minor  one in comparison to the first , this one felt closer than the last however  and lasted longer . Surely  the Xenomorphs would  know where these impacts were occurring and would be swarming the area. Maybe he should find a place to hide, let it blow over. No ,  he had to get to the labs ,  as fast as  possible.

“MY SUPERIOR  SENSES DETECT VOICES AHEAD.”

“People? No they’ll draw them to us, we need to find a way to avoid them.”  Glancing around Wilson  opened a storage locker and pressed his lanky limbs up against his chest to fit inside. It was crude and he didn’t want to resort to hiding but he just needed them to pass. “WX-78 watch and listen. Once they’re out of range let me know. Try to look shut down.” After staring at Wilson WX looked to the hallway and sat down like a  ragdo ll , its gaze towards the hallwa y. 

Soon a team of 4 came into view , obscured greatly by the bars of the  locker however. They wore black and k haki, red trimmings could only just be seen under the dim light. Wilson held his breath, these mustn’t be crew members . It  was near impossible  for  Woodie  to have gotten an SOS signal out so swiftly , nevertheless a rescue team arrive in this space of time. Whoever they were they were armed ;  probably thieves, pirates, scavengers of the cosmos, going from one  wreck to another like parasites in order to avoid real labour and make money off of others misfortunes’ .

“H oly crap look at the  age on that! ” One of the figures neared WX,  squatting out of Wilson’s view. “Someone loves you don’t they? I didn’t think there were any of you left! Still in great condition.”  The figure dropped down, squatting out of Wilson's view.

"We can't take the whole thing, maybe on the way back but we might not come back this way. Take what you want now or gamble it."

"Let me see if there's anything worth taking." Wilson tried his best to see what was going on without giving his position away but it was no good, he couldn't see anything really. The group moved suddenly, crying out in surprise. Had the Xenomorphs found them?!

"DO NOT TOUCH ME  FLESHLING . I REFUSE TO ALLOW MYSELF TO BE PRODDED AND POKED. THIS WAS NOT PART OF THE PLAN." Ah. Of course. It was nothing, WX had just moved. Thank Darwin.

"Oh. My. God. It's powered! It's got an AI?!" The sound of a gun cocking filled the air.

"Winona calm down, it might be hostile. What plan rust bucket?" Silence. Wilson was probably one of the only humans WX tolerated and he was lucky to have his loyalty on top of that. " Wigfrid  check the lockers over there."

"Aye, aye."  Well Schrödinger . Wilson closed his eyes and not long after his hiding spot was revealed, light painting the inside of his eyelids, vision turning to red . Something cold was pressed against his forehead.  “ We got an audience captain.”  Wilson opened one eye at a time, the barrel of some kind of shotgun was uncomfortably close to his brain. 

“I-I-I’m unarmed.”

“You a scientist? You look like one with that stereotype of a lab coat.”

“Yes. I am.”

“What’s going on. This ship seems functional. What are you sending a distress call out for?” Woodie did get a signal out! There could be rescue coming!

“ There’s uh… been… a bio-hazard issue.” A moment of silence filled the air as  the infiltrators  looked at each other.

“ Our engineer  said  the air’s not contaminated with any pathogen. What kind of bio-hazard are we talking about?”

“Hostile  macrofauna .”  The woman Wilson could only assume  as  their leader  put a hand on  her hip and studied Wilson’s face intently.

“Alright ladies lets pack up and head out. Where’s the closest most valuable cargo?”

“W-what?” They has no idea what they were up against, they were going to be slaughtered.

“We’re not leaving empty handed. No angry alien’s gonna stop us from at least breaking even. So where can we get something we can sell for like 200 credits?” Wilson couldn’t believe it. They had a working ship, a chance to leave with their lives and they were going to stay to make enough for fill up the tank of whatever hunk of junk they were flying?! How absurd! How stupid! Thinking they could take on a xenomorph let alone a dozen. Then it struck him. A small armed team had just become available to him and they were blissfully unaware of the damage these creatures could do. “Oi I’m  talkin ’ to you. Spill it before we spill your brains.”

“I -I can  pay you 200 credits for getting me off this ship.” Wilson brought his hand up and pushed the barrel away from his forehead. “ I need something from my  laboratory though.  I’ll  pay you 5,000  credits.  I’m head of the science department here , I can transfer the funds.”

“Bullshit.”

“N-no!  Check my ID! Ask WX- 78!”

“WILSON  CONTROLS ALL  FUNDS  IN THE SCIENCE WING.”  The pirate’s face softened . They had a soft spot for money.

“Alright. 200 credits  _ each _ and  5,000  for escorting you to your lab to get your thing. Deal?”

“200 each?! I meant 5, 000 for your entire crew!”

“If it’s not worth the credits then we’ll be going now.”

“No! Okay. Fine. Whatever. I agree. Just.  Promise you’ll take me off this ship.” The woman stepped forward and spat in her hand, holding it towards Wilson afterwards.

“Deal?”  Disgusting. Wilson screwed up his face and shuddered. Spitting in to  his own hand he shook hers. Unsanitary.

“Deal.” Wilson wiped his  hand  furiously on his lab coat. "The labs are this way. Just try to not draw attention to us."

"Wendy,  Wigfrid  take back and keep these two in line, Winona you're up front with me.

"Aye Aye captain." A large woman who had previously pressed the gun against Wilson's forehead pushed him and WX-78 forward. Lousy way to treat the gentleman who was willing to pay you, he should be treated as a customer not a prisoner.


	3. First Contact

Now that they had begun walking Wilson was able to get a better look at the group. Their team consisted of the captain, Willow, the muscle,  Wigfrid , a woman who Wilson assumed had to be engineer, Winona and a child, Wendy. Wilson had no idea these people had a child with them, if he had known he wouldn't have asked them to escort him to the labs. 

"I DO NOT LIKE THE WAY SHE KEEPS LOOKING AT ME." WX-78's voice was a whisper, looking forward Wilson caught Winona glancing back at least several times .

“You’re making my  droid  uncomfortable . I assume he doesn’t want you cannibalising him for parts.”

“ So he is  yours.”  Wilson could see the corners of her mouth form a grin. “I assume  you upgraded it all?”

“I did. I wanted to prove to myself I could bring it back from the dead. I installed a new AI as well, as the  old one was harshly limited and not very useful. It’s basically a high-tech  brain  in an old  body . ”

“You’ll have to show me on the way to the place where we’ll dump you.”

“It sounds like you enjoy  the idea of dumping me on some random planet.. .”

“We all do. Now shut up, the both of you lovebirds.” Winona laughed at her captain’s comment and Wilson could only blush and clench his fists. How dare they  fuff  around, he was married to his work  anyway .  Also , had they forgotten that they were walking in a ship full of hostile aliens?

“ Th ere’s movement up ahead.”

“Thanks  Winona . ” With a nod of the head Willow and Winona stood by the side  of the doorway ahead of them.  Willow pulled out a mirror and held it out in the doorway. As much as he hated to admit it, that was very clever , staying out of sight while still being able to get a view of the room. However  panic  started to flutter back into Wilson’s blood stream , realising they were near one of the aliens again. 

Looking into the mirror Willow  couldn’t see much .  A low steady beep from the movement tracker said otherwise.  What kind of animal was she looking for?  For all she knew it could be something tiny and vicious, like a lamprey with legs. Cocking her  pistol she  turned the mirror slowly  with her other hand.  Where was the bastard?  Something shiny caught her eye . Something small. Was that it?  It came from the vent. Then another came from the vent.  After watching for a few  moments  she could see a steady dripping.  Willow raised her hand to le t her team  know  there was something ahead.  Winona and Willow locked eyes, a nod of the head and Winona threw something small and round into the next room. Within moments the small orb started making noises.  Willow hoped the bastards weren’t deaf,  she wanted a good look at it.  Then it came out of the vent. It was huge. Sleek. Shiny.  Sharp . Willow could n’t  help but stare for a few moments as it dropped onto the floor, powerful ly  yet elegant ly  at the same time. It let out a hiss she would liken to a pissed off reptile as it examined the small noise maker , it didn’t take long for it to realise it had been duped and  a  crunch  could be heard  as it crushed the orb under foot. 

Willow folded the mirror and held it to her chest. Her gaze shot straight to Wilson, who was pressed against the wall, looking at the ground. His eyes flickered and met Willow’s. There was pure fear in those eyes. If what he told her was  true  he knew the capabilities of this creature, from its appearance and his reaction, it was capable of causing major damage. Willow then locked eyes with  Winona  and nodded. The two soon charged out of the hallway, Willow emptied her pistol at the creature. It moved lightning fast. She didn’t even know if any of her shots made contact. It hissed and rushed at the two, lashing out with what she assumed to be claws. It was on top of them in an instant. The two were batted away, the wall connected with the back of Willow’s head and the air left her lungs. Shots rang out, echoing in Willow’s ears. She got up, dazed. The world a spinning blur. The black mass. She had to shoot it. Protect her crew. Shakily aiming she unloaded her clip, focus slowly returning. A sickening yellow-green substance leaked out of the wounds she inflicted. Then a large bang stopped everything.   Wigfrid  let a shotgun shell out at its head. The body collapsed with a heavy thud. The ground sizzled and smoked. “Is... Is everyone okay?” Various responses were grunted.

Wigfrid  knelt  down to  poke the carcass. “DON’T TOUCH IT ! D-don’t touch it. It’s acidic.” 

“Acidic? What? Inside?”

“They’re like a battery, turning organic matter into -“

“How many are there?” The fog in Willow's mind was clearing, she wanted to know what exactly they were up against.

“How many? Well... If there’s no queen yet and none have been killed then only  eight .”

“ONLY  eight ?!”

“Um ... seven  now.”

“We’re getting the fuck off this thing. Let’s go girls.”  No way they were sticking around with more of those things around. 

Wilson’s heart sank. They took one out swiftly. They were valuable and might possibly get him off of the ship with what he needed. "I'll pay you  a 1 , 000 credits  each , plus the 5,000! "

"No offence but my crews' lives are worth more. Fat lot that money would do anyway if we're all dead!"

"Please! I'll do anything! I-I have family there!"  Surely  they couldn't be heartless. At least, that's what Wilson hoped.

"We're not keeping you, by all means off you go! Good luck!"

"He's only a boy!" Silence fell. Willow's eyes interlocked with Wilson's. There was desperation in Wilson's eyes, Willow's eyes flicked to Wendy. Wendy had proved an invaluable member of the team, light footed and handed, small, able to get into difficult places. She was a troubled little girl, distraught and orphaned, but she was part of Willow's crew and crew meant family. "You took out that xenomorph faster than I could have ever hoped. With your help and my knowledge of this ship we should be able to get there and back in no time. H-hopefully without casualty.  They must  of  heard those shots, they’ll be coming! ”

“Look. As much as I’d like to help you, I’m not willing to risk my crew’s life just for some guy and some cash.  We’re going right back the way we came. ”

“I have a bad feeling about going back…”  The three women turned to face  Wendy . Her voice calm and quiet . “I think we should find another way back .” The women then looked amongst each other and  then  finally to Wilson.

“Where’s another area  where the wall is directly  against the outside of the ship? ” Wilson was baffled .  “God you’re slow. Wall. Outside. In this direction.” They we’re listening and not going back, maybe he could use this to his advantage. 

“I. Yes. Well. Of course.  Uhhhh . There’s an observation deck in the science wing.” Willow suddenly took a forceful step towards Wilson and  grabbed him by the collar, pulling him close and pressing the gun in her hand against the bottom of his jaw.

“If you’re bullshitting  me  I’ll paint the wall with your fucking brains. Do you understand?” Wilson could only manage a nod, the cold metal pressed against his throat. “Now this is the closest spot like it? You’re not manipulating us?”  He nodded again,  stumbling as he was thrown back.  “ You and I will lead. Winona give me the movement tracker ,  also  let  Walani  know we're moving.” Winona gave a device  to her  captain ,  Willow then pushed Wilson forward. “Get moving.”  Wilson swallowed  hard, a lump in his throat refusing to go down.  He was telling the truth, at least it was a real place with close to outside access. The closest? Probably not. But it was close to labs.


	4. Whitleblower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another short one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel I need to re-write a lot of this. I feel my skills have improved since I first started this project a couple years ago.

“Sir there’s a ship approaching the Damselfly.” Maxwell lowered the book in his hands.

“Size? Any outgoing frequencies?”

“No sir. I didn’t detect them until now because they’re silent. It’s a fairly small vessel.” The man straightened his posture and let out a considerate sigh.

“Probably scavengers. They may have been close enough to pick up the signal we smothered it. If they didn’t see it before they do by now. Keep an eye on them and fire up the E.M.Ps. We may need to disable them if they attempt to leave. If they’re killed in there we clean up their ship with the Damselfly.” Charlie nodded and made sure they were ready to fire.

“O-oh, sir, there’s an escape shuttle leaving the Damselfly.”

“What are you waiting for?! Bring them in.” His voice was firm and sharp, a change from the previously calm and collected composure he had moments ago.

“Firing and activating tractor beam.” Charlie complied hastily, his sudden snap startling her. A small cone shot out of their ship and into the dark abyss, aim focused in a small egg-shaped shuttle that was currently rocketing into that same abyss. Within seconds the cone made contact and the engine of the shuttle spluttered, dying completely. Charlie manoeuvred the ship towards the shuttle, magnetic forces bringing it to the ship’s port. “The shuttle is in the port, doors aligning as we speak.”

“Brilliant. Be prepared to fire again. There might be more.” Maxwell lifted himself out of the chair and swept minuscule dust particles off of his tailored suit. I’ll be welcoming in our guest.” With a smirk he walked over to the door, entering a code and stepping through. On the other side we’re two synthetics designed for personal security, whom followed Maxwell to the port door. Folding his arms behind his back Maxwell cleared his throat heavily. The two bots knelt in front of him aiming their firearms at the door, one of them punching the code to open the door as they got into position. With a hiss the doors opened, revealing a panicked man brandishing a fire extinguisher as a weapon. “Well, well, well. Wes, what a wonderful surprise. I was actually hoping I would see you again.” There was fear in Wes’s eyes. He had finally gotten off the Damselfly and of course Maxwell managed to scoop him up. “Seize him.” The two bots moved forward and Wes swung the extinguisher, it hit one of them in the head firmly and caused it to stumble, the other tackled and pinned him to the ground. Wes tried to struggle but was no match for the androids, he was forced to stand, arms twisted at painful angles behind his back. “I’m quite surprised you fought back, I was pretty sure the only thing you know how to do was run and hide like a coward.”

“Everyone will know what’s happening here!”

“I don’t think so. You see. Once the creatures have killed everyone on board the Damselfly, it will drift until it collides with the sun in this system. No one will reach it to investigate it before the sun incinerates every shred of evidence. No witnesses. No evidence. No crime.” Maxwell turned and the androids followed him, pushing Wes along.

Wes’s heart was in his throat. He knew as soon as he leaked his findings he’d be a target, but for a while he had hope he was going to live. That was until the escape shuttle was caught and the very man he was trying to expose had him in his clutches.

“Are you going to shoot me? Throw me out the air lock? Why not just shoot the escape shuttle?”

“I’m offended Wes, I’m a business man not an animal. Besides, death would be too good for you.” Maxwell didn’t go the same way he came in, he went down a different corridor leading to a number of doors. Opening one of them he gestured to the guards, Wes was shoved into the room, the sudden change in movement causing him to stumble. “You know. Everything was running smoothly until you had to go and open that mouth of yours.” Turning, Wes looked Maxwell in the eyes.

“Someone will know. Maybe not now. But eventually.” Wes spat in the other man’s face. Maxwell was disgusted and pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket, wiping his face with it. He then lashed out a sucker punch, landing square in Wes’s face sending him falling backward.

“I’ll be making sure you can’t blab to anyone ever again… Try not to bleed on the upholstery.” The door shut and Maxwell shook his hand. That whelp better not have bruised his knuckles. “I want this door locked and guarded. I’ll be requesting a medical team in here within the next 30 minutes for him, let them in.”

“Affirmative sir.”

Maxwell made his way back to the cockpit and slumped into his chair. “How did it go sir?” Charlie glanced back at Maxwell, his face seemingly impossible to read.

“It was our whistleblower.”

“Oh. What did you do to him?”

“Nothing. But I’m going to order the medical androids to do some ‘surgery’ for me.”

“On him? Was he injured?”

“No but he will be soon. I’ll get creative to ensure his fear of me is strengthened.” Charlie couldn’t help feel guilt. He seemed so calm and yet was ready to mutilate another human being.

“I-is that really necessary sir?” She tensed as he let out a loud sigh, disappointment or perhaps annoyance, probably a bit of both.

“Charlotte. We wouldn’t be in our current situation if it weren’t for him. That’s our whistleblower.”

“B-but mutilation sir? Seems a bit inhumane.”

“Charlotte do not talk to me about humanity, this is my enterprise. Might I remind you that you are not human, you are a synthetic, no matter how advanced that AI of yours is.” Charlie didn’t want to cause an argument, not when there was no alternative for her anyway.

“Excuse my insolence sir.”

“You are excused Charlotte. But do not let those emotions of yours interfere again.”

“Of course sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've not been uploading, which is due to a few things. I will get back to our regularly scheduled programming eventually.


End file.
